The U.S. Air Force hosted a conference on ballistic missile defense at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii later last month, Air Force News reported Tuesday. "Service members and civilians from across the Pacific met at Hickam late February for a conference to discuss ballistic missile defense for the PACOM Area of Responsibility," AFN said.
Lt. Gen. Chip Utterback, 13th Air Force commander, told AFN the conference, "allowed us to bring our experts in Ballistic Missile Defense and our Joint Interface Control Officers to compare tactics, techniques, and procedures to understand what the different services … bring to the table."
"Ultimately the goal of the conference is just to get everybody together in the PACOM arena and talk about communications, talk about how we're going to work together, talk about how we're going to link together. So that we can do it successfully when we need to," Captain Karen Clarke, 94th Army Air Missile Defense Command planner, said.
The 94th deployed a tactical operations center, or TOC, to boost the joint capabilities of the Army and Air Force, said Lt. Col. John Keffer, 56th Air and Space Communications Squadron commander, told AFN.
"My unit actually does the computers for the air operations center," Keefer said. "This allows us to connect the Army tactical operations center up directly to the air component piece. It really facilitates very well the connectivity between the Army C-2 system and the Air Force C-2 system, allowing a much more effective joint fight."
"The greater understanding will increase joint operations capabilities in the Pacific, giving Pacific Command another options to help maintain peace and stability throughout the region," AFN said.
Source: United Press International
